The Peach Report

The hormone-mimicking chemical bisphenol A is ubiquitous in cash-register receipts in the United States, according to new research. Other paper products, such as envelopes and newspapers, also frequently contain the compound, the study found. As a result, the authors conclude, people are routinely exposed to BPA through their skin, albeit at levels lower than through diet.
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If you’re trying to reduce your household’s contribution to climate change, you probably know about the obvious energy hogs, such as clothes dryers and refrigerators.

But when I was reporting a recent story for Chemical & Engineering News, I learned something surprising: Your laptop and television also contribute large amounts of greenhouse emissions.

[Edgar] Hertwich and his colleague Charlotte Roux modeled the greenhouse gases that come from household electronics and appliances in Norwegian homes in 2008. Using data from life-cycle assessments, sales reports, and other studies, they calculated the greenhouse emissions of the devices, considering manufacture, use, and disposal.

They found that freezers and refrigerators accounted for the most emissions: the equivalent of about 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide per household in 2008. Televisions and computers ranked second and third, contributing about 1,300 and 1,100 pounds of greenhouse emissions, respectively.

Why do TVs and laptops generate so many greenhouse gases? The answer lies in the often-overlooked emissions produced during manufacturing. The researchers found that manufacturing a laptop generated nearly 40 times the emissions produced by using the laptop for a year (at least in Norway). And buying the latest, greatest gadgetry also makes an impact:

Hertwich says that the rapid turnover of electronics increases the importance of manufacturing’s emissions. Norwegian households purchase a washing machine only once every nine years, on average, but buy a computer every two years and a television every 3.5 years.

Read the rest.

In a story for Chemical & Engineering News, I report that little progress has been made in reducing farm runoff, the main cause of a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite decades of conservation efforts, nitrate pollution in the Mississippi River basin hasn’t improved. Between 1980 and 2008, nitrate levels have held steady at some sites in the river and its tributaries, while increasing by more than 70% at another, according to a new study by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (Environ. Sci. Technol., DOI: 10.1021/es201221s).

Since the mid-20th century, farmers in the Mississippi River basin have applied nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to their crops. Some of that fertilizer washes into the Gulf of Mexico, where it feeds algal blooms. As bacteria devour the algae, they suck dissolved oxygen from the water and create a dead zone: an area of low-oxygen water where many organisms cannot survive.

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Coal: A Love Story from Powering a Nation on Vimeo.

This summer, I had the privilege to work with an extraordinary team of UNC-Chapel Hill students, professors and coaches on a special report about coal. Watch it, now. You’ll never think about coal the same way again.

In the most recent chapter of the book called “I have an awesome life,” I reviewed every episode of “The Daily Show” since 1999 that has dealt with climate change or global warming, 67 episodes in all. In a story for The Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, I report that Jon Stewart’s coverage of the issue is hilarious but often misleading:

Although the show deftly highlights the follies of politicians and television news networks, it is prone to inaccuracies of its own. A Yale Forum analysis found that Stewart and the show’s other correspondents have repeatedly — and mistakenly — conflated the ozone hole and climate change. At times, Stewart has appeared uncharacteristically timid in questioning guests about climate science. Meanwhile, the show’s coverage of the University of East Anglia/Climatic Research Unit 2009 e-mail controversy likely reinforced public misunderstanding.

Check it out.

For Chemical & Engineering News, I also reported recently that the soils of northern forests are high in mercury, and that dioxin levels in Beijing dropped 70 percent during the 2008 Summer Olympics, in part because the city temporarily banned two million cars from the road.

Writer and producer Ron Blau interviewed me by Skype about how video producers can do a better job of communicating about climate change on the Web. You can see the interview here.

And finally, I got a promotion! I’m now the interim executive producer for reesenews.org, an experimental digital news site based at the University of North Carolina. The site, which launched in November 2011, is staffed by a fantastic team of students who have already started to win some big awards. For example, this interactive story about NCAA investigations at UNC just won a first-place national Society of Professional Journalists award. If you’re a journalism geek, both reesenews.org and reesefelts.org, our insider blog, are well worth checking out.

Wanted: Climate change-based novels with a strong dose of story, vivid character development, a strong theme, and setting or atmosphere. Climate change focus alone may not be sufficient.

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In a new story for Chemical & Engineering News, I report that installing anaerobic digesters in rural China could significantly reduce greenhouse emissions.

The fuel generators, called anaerobic digesters, rely on microbes that break down animal or human waste inside airtight, underground tanks that are typically between 6 and 10 m3 in size. They produce biogas, which is composed largely of methane. The biogas travels through pipes into the home, where people burn it for cooking, lighting, and heating.

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[The researchers] found that compared with traditional fuels, anaerobic digesters would produce as much as 54% less warming over 20 years. The researchers detected methane leaks in less than 10% of digesters, but they calculated that even leaky systems would cut warming compared to traditional fuels, by 35 to 42% during the same period.

I didn’t have room to include these details in the story, but to set up your own biogas generator, you’ll need:
1) Waste from about two large animals (that amount will provide enough fuel to cook for a family)
2) Water
3) Warm temperatures. The microbes inside an anaerobic generator produce more methane when it’s hot. But some Alaskan scientists have found some cold-loving microbes that could make biogas production efficient even in chilly climates.

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In one of my favorite scenes from “The Simpsons,” Homer Simpson argues with his daughter, Lisa, about the meaning of a recent snowfall.

HOMER: Gee, Lisa, looks like tomorrow, I’ll be shoveling 10 feet of global warming.

LISA: Global warming can cause weather at both extremes, hot and cold.

HOMER: I see. So you’re saying warming makes it colder. Well, aren’t you the queen of crazy land! Everything’s the opposite of everything!

(Homer dances, twirling and waving his arms.)

HOMER (singing): La de da de da. I’m Lisa Simpson! La de da de da!

LISA (muttering): Really? Really?

I had the privilege of watching this scene and many others as I conducted research last month for my new story for The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media, “‘The Simpsons’ take on climate change.” The story is an analysis of how “The Simpsons” has portrayed climate change during its 20-year run.

“The Simpsons” is so popular that its characters serve as a common language through which society discusses the world, said Turner, the “Planet Simpson” author, in a recent interview. Many Americans — and indeed many people around the world — know the meaning of “D’oh!,” “Don’t have a cow, man” and “Mmm … donuts,” even if they don’t remember that the phrases originated with the series.

Because of its popularity, the show reaches a larger audience than many journalists and scientists, said Tim Delaney, author of “Simpsonology” and professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Oswego. Meanwhile, its humorous approach may disarm viewers who would otherwise dismiss messages about the environment. “Funny is funny,” he said. “Everyone can laugh at it.”

Read the rest.

In a new story for Chemical & Engineering News, I write about a new study showing that 85 percent of our energy demand could be avoided.

[T]he Cambridge team used a model … to follow energy flow from raw fuels through their use in transportation and in the production of heat and light. The researchers added data on conservation from design changes and current energy consumption to calculate how much energy the world could save.

They found that implementing the best available design improvements to passive systems in every building, factory, and vehicle would reduce world energy demand by 73%. When they added potential gains from some energy-efficient active systems such as light bulbs, appliances, and engines, they calculated that as much as 85% of energy demand could vanish.

In reporting the story, I spoke with Kornelis Blok, a professor of sustainable energy at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. To address climate change and energy shortages, “all the analysts agree that the number-one option is energy-efficiency improvement,” he told me. The challenge, though, is in achieving that potential.

The story.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Anthony Leiserowitz, a research scientist at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. Leiserowitz studies how Americans view climate change and how messages could be tailored to reach different audiences within the American public.
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